Recovery of the European bison

The release of European bison into the wild in both Southern Carpathian rewilding areas represents another milestone in the comeback of this magnificent and ecologically important animal. Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania are delighted to announce that a group of 14 European bison are now wandering free in the Poiana Ruscă Mountains of southwest …

One year after the completion of the wildlife and landscape observatory in Armenis, the first bison rewilding site in the south-west of Romania, we take a look back at this amazing experience with photos from behind the scenes and an interview with the architects who coordinated the design&build camp. Text by Mara Cazacu Minculescu, WWF-Romania …

Born into herds in both the Armeniș and Poiana Ruscă rewilding areas, the four healthy calves show significant progress is being made in establishing a fully wild, viable bison population in this part of Romania. Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania are thrilled to announce the birth of four new bison calves in the Southern Carpathians …

As rangers at the second European bison reintroduction site in the Southern Carpathians rewilding area, the efforts of Marius Gârdean and Roland Hauptman are vital to the success of the project. On the occasion of World Ranger Day, we caught up with them to thank them for their ongoing support, and to learn more about …

Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania are delighted to announce the successful reintroduction of 23 European bison at two sites in the Southern Carpathian mountains of Romania. The animals, which were sourced from nine European nature reserves and zoos, have been released over the course of several weeks. Ongoing rewilding efforts involving bison began in the Southern Carpathians in 2014. This reintroduction - the largest ever in the Carpathians - significantly advances the comeback of this magnificent species and takes the local population up to 53. Around 30 of these animals are now freely roaming in the wild, with the recently released bison kept in enclosures until their full release later this year.

Last week, two European bison were released in the newly established bison release site at the foothills of Poiana Ruscă Mountains, part of the Southern Carpathians rewilding area. The bison were relocated from the Romanian bison reserve in Brasov county.

A four-day digital workshop held last December in the Southern Carpathians rewilding area saw participants brainstorm new ways to mitigate human-bison conflict. Digital technology and wild nature frequently seem worlds apart. But in the Southern Carpathians rewilding area technological innovation is now generating solutions to rewilding-related problems, ensuring that humans and bison can peacefully co-exist. …

The two-year programme will encourage more young Romanians to become involved in wild nature and forms part of a vision to use reintroduced bison as an engine for driving local development. An ambitious education programme recently launched in an area of the Southern Carpathians in Romania aims to involve youngsters in the conservation …

The exhibition, which will continue until 2021, depicts the ongoing bison reintroduction in the Southern Carpathians by Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania, with a special focus on reaching out to the younger generation. They say a picture tells a thousand words. This autumn a visually stunning Romanian photographic exhibition presented the full story of Rewilding …

Multi-day collaborative workshop in the Southern Carpathians sees construction of beautifully designed building for wildlife viewing and related events. Visitors to the Bison Hillock in Rewilding Europe’s Southern Carpathians rewilding area can now enjoy a new, state-of-the art wildlife observatory. Constructed during a 10-day on location “workshop” in August, the striking wooden structure boasts a …

This year’s birth of three bison calves bodes well for the successful reintroduction of this majestic herbivore. Rewilding Europe and its partners are delighted to announce that the bison herd in the Southern Carpathians has this year increased by three. The discovery of the bison calves, following four consecutive years of bison reintroductions, was greeted …

Matei and Daniel (whom we like to call Danu) are WWF/Rewilding bison rangers in the Țarcu Mountains, Southern Carpathians, Romania. As rangers, they patrol the area every day with activities linked to the monitoring of bison and the state of their natural habitat, maintenance of the enclosures where bison live from the moment they get …

The spectacular sight of Europe’s largest land animal running wild is set to become more common in Romania’s Țarcu Mountains. After a long journey from the Avesta Reserve in Sweden, a group of nine European bison arrived at Rewilding Europe’s Southern Carpathians rewilding area on April 22 and 23. The group will eventually join free-roaming …

Last Friday, the LIFE project “Urgent actions for the recovery of European Bison populations in Romania” (LIFE Bison) held its opening ceremony at the “Grigore Antipa” Natural History Museum in Bucharest, Romania. The project works to build a viable population of the European bison in the Tarçu Mountains Natura 2000 site in the Southern Carpathians. …

The reintroduction of bison in the Romanian Țarcu Mountains, which began in 2012 with a partnership between WWF-Romania and Rewilding Europe, is running at full speed, with 20 individuals already roaming freely 200 years after their disappearance from these lands. Through the LIFE Bison project funded by the EU, we aim at creating a viable …

The Bison Visitor Centre in Armeniș, Țarcu Mountains, Romania, is now presenting scientific data about the bison in a playful and immersive way. It has the biggest holographic projection in Europe with two more installations that were built at the crossroads between art and technology. The data feed, animating the installations, is being continuously collected …

This Saturday, after 3000 km of travelling, ten more European bison originating from Belgian and German zoos and wildlife centres arrived at the Țarcu Mountains in the southern part of Romania. This group joined the herds Rewilding Europe and WWF Romania released here in 2014 and 2015, making one more step towards creating a viable wild bison …

This year a new project started in the Southern Carpathians called “Wilderness Innovation Lab”, co-financed by a grant from the Swiss Contribution to the enlarged EU. The aim of the project is to help tell the story of bison reintroductions in real time through multimedia installations in the Southern Carpathians Visitor Centre. The centre is …

A major gathering of nature conservation organisations took place this week in Haskovo, Bulgaria. Members from Rewilding Europe, Rewilding Rhodopes, Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds/Birdlife Bulgaria, WWF Romania, WWF Greece, Vulture Conservation Foundation and Hellenic Ornithological Society/BirdLife Greece gathered for the kick-off meetings and training sessions of two LIFE funded projects that officially …